Auriemma And Walz? Wiseguys, But Good Fellows

UConn, Louisville Coaches Appreciate Each Other

April 08, 2013|Jeff Jacobs

NEW ORLEANS — — He didn't want to talk about equaling Tennessee's eight national championships. He didn't want to talk about catching Pat Summitt, or John Wooden and taking that long, forever arm-and-arm walk with history.

Not yet anyway. Not with one more game to play.

"Talking about things that haven't happened yet," Geno Auriemma said on the eve of the NCAA women's national championship against Louisville, "is never a good idea."

What UConn's Hall of Fame coach did want to talk about Monday was the Mad Scientist of women's basketball. And in turn, Jeff Walz took a moment from his Bunsen burner to announce a career change on Geno's dime.

"Jeff always has got something up his sleeve," Auriemma said. "The first time we played them he had his team line up and go the wrong way coming out of halftime so we would shoot at the wrong basket. Who does that in a college game? That's something you do in CYO, right?

"Well, all my Phi Beta Kappas, they all went with him. Luckily the ref went, 'Whoa, whoa,' you're supposed to go the other way. He was so pissed because he had us and the ref stopped it."

At this point, Auriemma had everybody at his media conference laughing. And that's the moment when Auriemma loves to turn serious.

"You look around the country and who has done a better job than him?" Auriemma said. "I don't think there's another coach in America that's accomplished as much as he has from where they started in the last six years than he has."

Walz, who took Angel McCoughtry to the national finals in 2009, took down Baylor this spring when everybody thought Brittney Griner was invincible. He got to the NCAA title game with a 5 seed for the first time in tournament history. He is similar to Auriemma in a number of ways and that's why Ohio State is chasing him to fill Jim Foster's job. Similar to Auriemma, of course, except for his choice in his game attire.

Even one of his players, Sheronne Vails, conceded Walz coached the Final Four victory over California in a red-checkered shirt that looked like a picnic cloth. On Sunday night Auriemma and Walz met in the New Orleans Arena hallway and he bowed and pretended to kiss Walz's hand. That didn't stop Auriemma from later mocking his shirt.

Walz returned the favor Monday with his own version of Hail! Caesar! Hail! Caesar salad!

"This will be the last game that I coach here," Walz announced. "As a women's basketball coach, you go through times where you're always wondering what are you going to do when you're finished. I've been to three national championship games [one as an assistant for Maryland and two as Louisville coach].

"Now that I've got the opportunity to be a waiter in Geno's restaurant, I don't know what the hell else somebody wants in life. My goal is to become the head waiter. Not just one that sits in the back. I want to be the best damn one he's got."

Auriemma's response?

"He doesn't dress well enough to work in the front room of my restaurant. He'll be busing dishes and taking out the trash in the back until he fixes his attitude."

Walz will keep his day job.

"I think I'm pretty sarcastic at times and I like to give it back to him as well," Walz said. "It's all in good fun. When it comes to competing on the basketball floor, I've always respected what he's done. I've always respected how he does things. I've always respected him because he's honest and blunt. He says what the rest of us think.

"What impresses me so much about what he's done is he takes really good players and gets them all to play hard and buy into his system. He continues to get leaders and he develops them. I love the guy."

Walz can be forgiven if he doesn't love him too much. After all, he is 0-9 against UConn since taking over at Louisville in 2007. Or as Walz says, "I think I'm 0 and 64" Louisville's victory over Baylor might have been the most stunning upset in the history of the game and the legend would go off the charts if Louisville shocked UConn Tuesday night to complete a championship run. But, hey, it's not happening. Baylor had the best player. Baylor had two of the 10 best players in the nation. UConn has, oh, seven elite players. Louisville can't account for them all.

Sorry, to ruin the fairy tale.

"Our kids are confident," Walz said. "We believe in what we're doing. No one thought we could beat Baylor. No one thought we'd come back a day after that and beat Tennessee … I got a pretty good feeling they aren't picking us against UConn.

"I told our kids — I'm honest with them — if we had to play Baylor in a best of seven, I don't think we're going to win that series. We don't have to. We have to play 40 minutes of pretty much perfect basketball, which I think we can."

That all sounded good to Auriemma.

"There's no pressure on us," Walz said. "The pressure is all on them because they're going to be a heavy favorite to win."